Super Bowl XXVI

Super Bowl XXVI

Washington Redskins (1) (NFC) (14–2) Buffalo Bills (1) (AFC) (13–3) 37 24 Head coach: Joe Gibbs Head coach: Marv Levy
1 2 3 4 Total WAS 0 17 14 6 37 BUF 0 0 10 14 24
Date	January 26, 1992 (1992-01-26)
Stadium	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
MVP	Mark Rypien, quarterback
Favorite	Redskins by 7[1][2]
Referee	Jerry Markbreit
Attendance	63,130[3]
Hall of Famers
Redskins: Joe Gibbs (head coach), Darrell Green, Russ Grimm, Art Monk Bills: Ralph Wilson (owner), Bill Polian (general manager), Marv Levy (head coach), Jim Kelly, James Lofton, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas
Ceremonies
National anthem	Harry Connick Jr.
Coin toss	Chuck Noll
Halftime show	Gloria Estefan, Brian Boitano, Dorothy Hamill, and the Minnesota Marching Band
TV in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Pat Summerall, John Madden, Lesley Visser, Pat O'Brien and Jim Gray
Nielsen ratings	40.3 (est. 79.6 million viewers)[4]
Market share	61
Cost of 30-second commercial	$850,000
Radio in the United States
Network	CBS Radio
Announcers	Jack Buck and Hank Stram
← XXV Super Bowl XXVII →

Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1991 season. The Redskins defeated the Bills by a score of 37–24, becoming the fourth team after the Pittsburgh Steelers, the now Las Vegas Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers to win three Super Bowls. The Bills became the third team, after the Minnesota Vikings (Super Bowls VIII and IX) and the Denver Broncos (Super Bowls XXI and XXII) to lose back-to-back Super Bowls. The game was played on January 26, 1992, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the first time the city played host to a Super Bowl.

Both teams finished the regular season with the best record in their respective conference. The Redskins posted a 14–2 regular season record, and led the league during the regular season with 485 points. Washington head coach Joe Gibbs entered the game seeking his third Super Bowl victory with the team, but with his third starting Super Bowl quarterback, Mark Rypien. The Bills finished the regular season with a 13–3 record and advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl, largely through the play of quarterback Jim Kelly and their "K-Gun" no-huddle offense. However, their defense ranked second to last in the league in total yards allowed.

Super Bowl XXVI was dominated by Washington. Early in the second quarter, the Redskins jumped out to a 17–0 lead from which the Bills could not recover. Washington also sacked Kelly four times and intercepted him four times. Rypien, who completed 18 of 33 passes for 292 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, was named Super Bowl MVP.

The telecast of the game on CBS was seen by an estimated 79.6 million viewers.^[4] This was the first time that a major television network successfully scheduled Super Bowl counterprogramming: Fox aired a special live football-themed episode of its popular sketch comedy show In Living Color during the halftime show.